(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for In the Belly of the Bloodhound, it may inadvertently spoil plot surprises from earlier Bloody Jack adventures.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

Accused of piracy by the King of England, "Bloody" Jacky Faber's got a hefty price on her head.  With plenty of enemies, any of whom would be delighted to see her locked in the Tower, she knows she's not safe on the open waters, even if that's where she feels most comfortable.  She needs to lay low until the trouble in her native land blows over.  To Boston it is, then.  

Ensconced once again at the Lawson Peabody School for Girls, Jacky must do her best not to attract any unwanted attention.  Not one of the 16-year-old's many talents.  As she tells her lawyer:

Once again, Jacky's wild and wanton ways bring trouble right to her doorstep.  Well, almost.  It's while embarking on a school field trip to Boston Harbor that Jacky and her classmates are kidnapped by brutal slavers.  The girls are forced into the hold of the Bloodhound, a chain-rattling, rat-infested ship bound for the Barbary Coast, where the sailors intend to sell their cargo to harem-hungry Arabians.  Jacky's been in worse scrapes, but never with a pack of prissy, sniveling girls as her only allies.  They're more likely to faint than fight.  If Jacky can rally them, maybe, just maybe, they can all survive this ordeal.  If not, well, Bloody Jack and her mates may just meet their maker a whole lot sooner than later.  

If you love Jacky Faber with as much fervor as I do, then you'll find In the Belly of the Bloodhound just as charming and delightful as her previous adventures.  L.A. Meyer has created a character who's so vibrant that it's impossible not to love her, no matter what kind of scrape she's gotten herself into this time.  Jacky's funny and brave and noble and true—a memorable lass in every way.  I love every book in which she stars and this one's no exception.  If you're not reading this series, I'm telling you, you're missing out on something special.      

(Readalikes:  Other books in the Bloody Jack series [Bloody Jack; Curse of the Blue Tattoo; Under the Jolly Roger; Mississippi Jack; My Bonny Light Horseman; Rapture of the Deep; The Wake of the Lorelei Lee; The Mark of the Golden Dragon; Viva! Jacquelina; and Boston Jacky])

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